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Trampolines - benefits v. dangers

54 replies

SigmaPi26 · 04/11/2018 20:36

We're thinking of buying a trampoline for the garden. If you have one, would you recommend one? What benefits have your child/children gained from having one? Have you experienced any injuries?

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hidinginthenightgarden · 04/11/2018 20:43

We have one. Kids had loads of fun over summer holidays on it.
Plus points - kids gets= fresh air and exercise and I don't have to leave the house
Negatives - can't really use it in the winter months, if they don't zip it up then they could get really hurt if they fall out the netting.
We had a near miss where the kids were playing together (5&2) and hadn't zipped up the net. DD fell through the net and landed on a chair they used as a step. I think if the chair hadn't been there then we would have been going to A&E.

Gohackyourself · 04/11/2018 21:18

Have had one for 8 years and has been used , even on dry cold days in winter.
I’d recommend for easy excersise for most kids.BUT must have net and the children must learn no bouncing till net done up.

My 11 yr old ds has just lost his trampoline as it broke, we are ordering a new one come spring !

SeaEagleFeather · 04/11/2018 22:09

Ours has been fabulous but a net is a MUST and doing it up properly. Our son was playing on a friend's which wasn\t done up and he came home with his face looking like raw meat after he fell out (all healed up now). Apparently A and E people loath trampolines.

But both ours love it and it's brilliant for exercise and just masses of fun. Really glad we got it.

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Xiaoxiong · 04/11/2018 22:15

When our DS broke his leg my mum went on and on to the nurses in hospital "how unusual, you never see little kids with broken legs, is there something else wrong that caused this, etc etc"

The sister looked at her and pointed to a large bay and said "see that, we call it the Trampoline wing - come summer all we do is kids with broken legs!"

Of course, all our friends have them and their kids love them, the plural of anecdote is not data, etc

AnotherPidgey · 04/11/2018 22:18

Had one for a few years with no incidents. Well, other than the first one being blown through the fence. The DCs are good at zipping it up.

It's excellent for exercising hyper kids. We fold it up and cover it over the winter to prolong its life and prevent storm damage. Our garden is an unappealing swamp from November to March anyway.

pumpkinpie01 · 04/11/2018 22:22

We have had various ones over the years the kids love them and they are great for sunbathing on if you get a child free moment . We have never had an accident and never had a net although the little ones are always supervised.

AveEldon · 04/11/2018 22:27

I would recommend it - most injuries are caused by having multiple kids on the trampoline at the same time
We use ours in winter provided it's dry

LovingLiving · 04/11/2018 22:31

My ds broke his leg on the trampoline in our garden and A&E said they see accidents like that all the time. It did put me off and I could never really relax when the dc used it after that.

PMSwithacockinmydress · 04/11/2018 22:39

We got given one second hand five years ago and have replaced the net twice and the pads once. It's the single best investment I've made in 13 years of parenting.

catinboots9 · 04/11/2018 22:46

Both my kids have loved them. Brilliant in the summer when they have pals over. As PPs have said, they must be zipped up. Also the bumper and net put away in the winter or they perish? Then a cover put on.

MerlinsScarf · 04/11/2018 22:49

I know two children who have been injured extremely seriously on trampolines (one with a broken neck). DSIS and I used to trampoline with a sports club when we were school age and when I compare the safety considerations with people setting up trampolines in back gardens, it's quite worrying.

Many, many people enjoy them without any problem, and they really are a lot of fun and good exercise. But when something does go wrong it can go very badly wrong in a split second.

Someone will be along in a minute to say otherwise I'm sure, which is fine but those are my thoughts.

MinesATreble · 04/11/2018 22:53

Negatives for close neighbours are the repetitive noise can irritate, and little faces popping over the fence at 3 second intervals.

I think one would be amazing for my autistic son so maybe I'm being mean refusing to get one. However my best friend is a radiologist, and she has always warned me off. She says it's not just the broken limbs, it's that they are often really nasty breaks. Just anecdotal of course, but I listen to her.

JellyBellies · 04/11/2018 22:53

We love our trampoline. However the safety stats scared us (friends husband us a doctor and will never allow a trampoline) so we paid for a springfree. Very expensive but you have peace of mind.

BrokenWing · 04/11/2018 22:55

I have a friend who works is the fracture clinic at the local hospital, I heard enough stories of broken limbs and worse to convince me not to get one.

Beingginger · 04/11/2018 22:57

We have one and the kids love it, it’s used most of the year so long as it’s dry.
My dc have trampoline lessons and they aren’t allowed to do somersaults or some of the more dangerous moves they do in lessons on our home trampoline. The
Beds are so different and more dangerous and nowhere near as bouncy.

donkeysandzebras · 04/11/2018 22:58

We've just got a 12ft to replace the 8ft one. I feel as though we're on borrowed time on the injury front as we'e had nothing in the 6.5yrs we've had the 8ft one nor in the 2yrs before that when we had an indoor one with a handle. However, I can't imagine our lives without it. It is 9yo DD's favourite activity. She was on it for over an hour today. I would much rather she practised her gymnastics on the trampoline than on the sofa/sitting room floor.

Woffaboo · 04/11/2018 23:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Elphame · 04/11/2018 23:24

My cousin broke her neck on one - luckily it was at a sports centre and the staff acted promptly and correctly but she was luck to escape paralysis.

I never let my own children on one

Ozgirl75 · 04/11/2018 23:41

My two boys have had one since they were 3 and 5 ( now 6 and 8). They are on it often and love being sprayed with water on it in the summer. Ours is quite huge so less chance of crashing into each other. They have had bumps before (and one memorable occasion of a knock of teeth to the head of the other) but to be honest with two boys I am well used to bumps and bruises.

3WildOnes · 05/11/2018 07:46

Mine love their trampoline and use it regularly. I think all sports come with a degree of risk. I imagine skiing rugby and horse riding are all at least as dangerous. A large proportion of obs and gynae doctors opt for elective c sections. I think doctors are more cautious with these things as they see the worst outcomes but not when everything goes ok.

Ozgirl75 · 05/11/2018 09:59

You’re totally right @3WildOnes. I used to do clinical negligence claims and I was thrilled when I had to have a c section as I knew all the things that could, and do, go badly wrong with childbirth.

I am also paranoid about motorbikes!

But I never had any claims to do with trampolines so I don’t have the same level of knowledge related fear.

SkinnywannabeKBH · 05/11/2018 10:04

I hate them and once saw a story about a child who broke their spine and ended up disabled because they were on a trampoline with a bigger kid who double bounced them meaning the toddler broke their spine.
My little sister recently broke her ankle very badly because she got her foot stuck in between the springs and the side, somehow. Net and everything was on she just managed to find her way between the springs. Hate them

CuppaSarah · 05/11/2018 10:04

I'll never have one and won't let my kids go to trampoline parks till they're 8. Multiple friends have had bad breaks on them. They're great fun and I feel bad always saying no. But the risk level is too high for me to feel happy personally.

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Xiaoxiong · 05/11/2018 10:07

Ozgirl my friend who works in A&E calls motorbikes "donorcycles"

Racecardriver · 05/11/2018 10:07

Ours lost interest fairly quickly.

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